Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

One feature of the prophets was their condemnation of the abuse of the weak (cf. Is 5:8–24; Amos 2:6–16; etc.), just as it is part of the Church’s prophetic mission to stand up for human rights: “Respect for the human entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a society undermines its own moral legitimacy. If it does not respect them, authority can rely only on force or violence to obtain obedience from its subjects. It is the Church’s role to remind men of good will of these rights, and to distinguish them from unwarranted or false claims” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1930).¹

Having defended belief in the true God against idolators, Elijah now defends human rights in the name of God himself. He acts very much in the same style as Nathan did towards David when the latter had someone murdered to disguise his affair with Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 12). Because Ahab allowed injustice to be done, he is judged to have been as guilty as Jezebel. The first punishment that the prophet announces is in line with the law of vengeance (v. 19; Ex 21:23–25), and we see it applied in 22:38. But then he changes his focus and announces that Ahab’s whole dynasty is going to pay for his transgression (vv. 21–22). Jezebel, being a foreigner and evil in the extreme, dies a horrible death (in 2 Kings 9:30–37).²

Despite his reprehensible conduct (summed up here in an aside: vv. 25–26), Ahab gives evidence of his repentance and is rewarded for it: his son will be allowed to succeed him (v. 29).
The figure of Ahab, a sad and humbled king, contrasts with that of Naboth, only a vassal, yet a happy man. That is how St Ambrose of Milan sees them in his book commenting on the passage—On Naboth. The same saint says elsewhere, “Naboth was happy, even when he was [being] stoned by the rich man, for although he was poor and weak in comparison to the powerful king, he was made rich in loyal feeling and piety by not accepting the king’s money in exchange for the vineyard that belonged to his family; and because he defended the rights of his people at the cost of his own life, his actions were irreproachable. Ahab, on the other hand, was a sinner—even in his own estimation—because he had sentenced a poor man to death in order to take control of the vineyard” (De officiis, 2, 5.17). In Naboth, too, we can see a figure of Christ, who was crucified after false witness was laid against him, yet he was the Son of God, the Lord of the vineyard, that is, Israel (cf. Mt 21:23).³

The first part of this verse—“You shall love your neighbour”—is to be found in Leviticus 19:18. The second part—“hate your enemy”—is not in the Law of Moses. However, Jesus’ words refer to a widespread rabbinical interpretation which understood “neighbours” as meaning “Israelites”. Our Lord corrects this misinterpretation of the Law: for him everyone is our neighbour (cf. the parable of the Good Samaritan in Lk 10:25–37).⁴

This is the apex of Christian perfection—to love, and pray for, even those who persecute and calumniate us. It is the distinguishing mark of the children of God.⁴

Certainly, the perfection that we should imitate does not refer to the power and wisdom of God, which are totally beyond our scope; here the context seems to refer primarily to love and mercy. Along the same lines, St Luke quotes these words of our Lord: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36; cf. the note on Lk 6:20–49).⁵

1. Gavigan, J., McCarthy, B., & McGovern, T. (Eds.). (2005). Joshua–Kings (p. 506). Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers.
2. Gavigan, J., McCarthy, B., & McGovern, T. (Eds.). (2005). Joshua–Kings (pp. 508–509). Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers.
3. Gavigan, J., McCarthy, B., & McGovern, T. (Eds.). (2005). Joshua–Kings (p. 509). Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers.
4. Saint Matthew’s Gospel. (2005). (p. 58). Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers.
5. Saint Matthew’s Gospel. (2005). (p. 59). Dublin; New York: Four Courts Press; Scepter Publishers.